From Haiti to the Dominican Republic and Back
On the island of Hispaniola, Haiti’s next-door neighbor is the much more prosperous Dominican Republic (D.R.). Historically, many Haitians have found better job opportunities and higher standards of living, and established families on the Dominican side of the island. The process got a big boost after even more Haitians poured into the D.R. as refugees during the aftermath of the tragic earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010. The earthquake that killed over 200,000 people and injured hundreds of thousands more has left nearly 1.6 million Haitians homeless and destroyed much of the nation’s basic infrastructure. A large portion of the Haitian population still lives in tents a year and half after the earthquake, struggling to survive on limited public services and medical aid while battling a cholera epidemic. In spite of all this misery, Haiti now faces its greatest challenge yet: the repatriation of its 1.2 million displaced citizens. This new obstacle has complicated the issues of citizenship and human rights, leaving Haiti’s displaced population to an uncertain fate in which immigration, especially to the neighboring D.R., appears to be the only viable solution.
Roots of Emigration
The D.R., widely undamaged by the earthquake, was the first nation to offer aid to Haiti—a surprising fact considering their tumultuous and troubled history. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), until the 1960s these two nations were relatively similar in terms of geography and historical institutions. However, since then, “the Dominican Republic has consistently outperformed Haiti . . . in terms of implementation of structural measures, stabilization policies, as well as political stability. Meanwhile, Haiti has lagged the region in implementing structural policies, while being subject to numerous political shocks that have severely affected its growth performance.” These structural, political, and economic differences underscore many of the conflicts that have emerged since the 1960s and are largely responsible for the vital role played by Haitian emigration to the D.R.
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This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Lauren Mathae.
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